04-25-2006, 02:24 PM
http://today.reuters.com/tv/videoStory.asp...6ea3c3a444d107a
Apr. 25 - Army commander wounded in assassination attempt by suspected Tamil Tiger rebels.
A suicide bomber blew herself up inside Sri Lanka's army headquarters on Tuesday (April 25), wounding the army commander and 11 others and calling into question a ceasefire with the Tamil Tiger rebels.
An army spokesman said that a suicide bomb went off near the army hospital apparently aimed at the army commander's vehicle. Sri Lanka's north and east have been rocked by claymore mine attacks and ethnic riots this month as a peace process between the government and Tigers remains deadlocked, but the attack on the capital took the violence to a new level.
The Colombo All-Share Index fell more than 3.2 percent after the blast, to 2216.74.
Pushpa Soysa, the head nurse at Colombo General Hospital, where the casualties were taken, said Army Commander Sarath Fonseka was being operated on and was in a critical condition. Witnesses said the roads around the army headquarters -- in central Colombo near to a popular sea-front park -- had been sealed off and several civilian ambulances were outside the heavily guarded compound.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels, who have been observing a shaky ceasefire with the government since 2002, have been known to use suicide bombers in their fight for a homeland for minority Tamils in Sri Lanka's north and east.
Apr. 25 - Army commander wounded in assassination attempt by suspected Tamil Tiger rebels.
A suicide bomber blew herself up inside Sri Lanka's army headquarters on Tuesday (April 25), wounding the army commander and 11 others and calling into question a ceasefire with the Tamil Tiger rebels.
An army spokesman said that a suicide bomb went off near the army hospital apparently aimed at the army commander's vehicle. Sri Lanka's north and east have been rocked by claymore mine attacks and ethnic riots this month as a peace process between the government and Tigers remains deadlocked, but the attack on the capital took the violence to a new level.
The Colombo All-Share Index fell more than 3.2 percent after the blast, to 2216.74.
Pushpa Soysa, the head nurse at Colombo General Hospital, where the casualties were taken, said Army Commander Sarath Fonseka was being operated on and was in a critical condition. Witnesses said the roads around the army headquarters -- in central Colombo near to a popular sea-front park -- had been sealed off and several civilian ambulances were outside the heavily guarded compound.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels, who have been observing a shaky ceasefire with the government since 2002, have been known to use suicide bombers in their fight for a homeland for minority Tamils in Sri Lanka's north and east.